Disruptors face disruption, Oyo to Swiggy get flak from restaurants, hotels

Online hospitality aggregators face growing discontent from restaurants and hotels over commissions and pricing power

Three years ago, Rajiv Kumar (name changed), a Noida-based restaurant owner was happy to find a platform in Zomato to market his produce. The offer was compelling: no commission was charged but Kumar had to make deliveries using his own staff. Things changed as the number of orders through the online food delivery platform expanded. Kumar was subsequently asked to pay Rs 500 a month while managing deliveries on his own. Today, Kumar pays Zomato a flat fee of Rs 60 for every order it generates, inclusive of a delivery charge. 

He says the fee works out to a commission of